"All of which is neither here nor there, for my story deals not with the
whale-ships, nor the berg-bound winter I spent by the Mackenzie.
Afterward, in the spring, when the days lengthened and there was a crust
to the snow, we came south, Passuk and I, to the Country of the Yukon. A
weary journey, but the sun pointed out the way of our feet. It was a
naked land then, as I have said, and we worked up the current, with pole
and paddle, till we came to Forty Mile. Good it was to see white faces
once again, so we put into the bank. And that winter was a hard winter.
The darkness and the cold drew down upon us, and with them the famine. To
each man the agent of the Company gave forty pounds of flour and twenty
of bacon. There were no beans. And, the dogs howled always, and there
were flat bellies and deep-lined faces, and strong men became weak, and
weak men died. There was also much scurvy.
"Then came we together in the store one night, and the empty shelves made
us feel our own emptiness the more. We talked low, by the light of the
fire, for the candles had been set aside for those who might yet gasp in
the spring.
Pages:
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147